JP7592467B2 - Support structure for in-vehicle components - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a structure for supporting an on-board component on a vehicle body frame material having a closed cross section.

A known support structure for this type of on-board component is one in which a pressure sensor that detects the pressure of a chamber member that is located on the vehicle outer side of the bumper reinforcement is located on the upper side of the bumper reinforcement (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The support structure for on-board components in Patent Document 1 relates to a front bumper, and the chamber member is located in front of the bumper reinforcement that has a closed cross section. The pedestrian protection device ECU then determines whether or not a pedestrian has collided with the vehicle bumper based on the pressure detection results of the pressure sensor.

JP 2012-20717 A

However, in the support structure for on-board components described in Patent Document 1, the pressure sensor is placed on the upper side of the bumper reinforcement, which is a body frame material, so that installation space for the pressure sensor must be secured above the body frame material, resulting in a problem of low freedom of design around the vehicle body frame material.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a support structure for on-board components that improves the design freedom around the vehicle body frame.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a support structure for an on-board component, comprising an outer panel on the outside of the vehicle and an inner panel on the inside of the vehicle that forms a closed cross section together with the outer panel, a vehicle body frame extending in a predetermined direction, a recess formed in the outer panel of the vehicle body frame over a predetermined section in the extension direction, a plate material that covers at least a portion of the recess, is connected to the outer panel outside the recess, and is capable of supporting an on-board component, and a hole formed in the recess of the outer panel and large enough to insert the on-board component when it moves toward the inside of the vehicle.

According to this support structure for an on-board component, a recess is formed in the outer panel of the vehicle body frame, and the on-board component is supported by a plate material that covers a part of the recess, so that the on-board component can be provided on the vehicle body frame side with a small amount of protrusion to the outside of the vehicle. This eliminates the need to secure additional installation space for the on-board component on the widthwise outside of the outer panel and inner panel of the vehicle body frame, and makes it possible to effectively utilize the space around the vehicle body frame.
Furthermore, the on-board part can be moved toward the inside of the vehicle through the hole without interfering with the vehicle body frame, and the vehicle body frame is not damaged in the event of a minor collision in which the on-board part is moved toward the inside of the vehicle.

In the above-mentioned support structure for an on-vehicle component, the recess may be formed in a portion of the outer panel in the width direction.

According to this support structure for vehicle-mounted components, a recess is formed in a portion of the outer panel in the width direction, and no recess is formed in the remaining portion of the outer panel. This suppresses changes in rigidity in the extension direction of the remaining portion of the outer panel, and suppresses reductions in rigidity and strength of the vehicle body frame material caused by the recess.

In the above-mentioned support structure for an on-vehicle component, the outer panel has a pair of flange portions on the outer sides in the width direction, a main wall portion on the center side in the width direction spaced away from each of the flange portions toward the outer side of the vehicle, and a pair of side wall portions connecting the inner end portions in the width direction of each of the flange portions to the outer end portions in the width direction of the main wall portions, and the recess may be formed to include one of the side wall portions but not the other side wall portion.

With this support structure for on-board components, the other side wall of the outer panel is not included in the recess, so the ridge formed by the other side wall and the main wall, which contributes relatively greatly to the rigidity and strength of the vehicle body frame, does not become concave, and the rigidity and strength of the vehicle body frame can be adequately ensured. Also, because one side wall is included in the recess, the recess can be relatively large on the one side wall side.

In the above-mentioned support structure for on-board components, the vehicle body frame member may be a bumper beam extending in the left-right direction, and the recesses may be formed in a pair on the left and right sides of the bumper beam.

This support structure for on-board components allows on-board components that need to be mounted in pairs on the left and right sides around the bumper to be mounted on the bumper beam side with a small amount of rearward protrusion. This allows the bumper beam to be positioned closer to the bumper face, ensuring a large space in front of the bumper beam.

The support structure for vehicle-mounted components of the present invention improves the design freedom around the vehicle body frame.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a bumper beam and a bumper stay showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional plan view of a bumper beam, a bumper stay, and a bumper face. FIG. A schematic side cross-sectional view of a bumper beam having a non-recessed portion. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a bumper beam in a recessed portion. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a bumper beam in a recessed portion showing a state in which the bumper beam has collided with a collision object;

Figures 1 to 5 show one embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a bumper beam and bumper stay, Figure 2 is a schematic plan cross-sectional view of the bumper beam, bumper stay and bumper face, Figure 3 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the bumper beam in a portion where no recess is formed, Figure 4 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the bumper beam in a portion where a recess is formed, and Figure 5 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the bumper beam in a portion where a recess is formed, showing the state after collision with a collision object.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the automobile vehicle of this embodiment is equipped with a sonar sensor 1 for detecting obstacles on the rear bumper at the rear of the vehicle. As shown in Figure 1, the automobile vehicle has a bumper beam 2 extending to the left and right, and a pair of left and right bumper stays 3 that support the bumper beam 2 at its rear end, and the sonar sensor 1 is supported by the bumper beam 2 via a plate material 4. As shown in Figure 2, in this embodiment, the sonar sensors 1 are arranged in a pair on the left and right. The front end of the bumper stays 3 is connected to the front frame. The bumper beam 2, bumper stays 3 and plate material 4 are made of a metal such as steel.

3, the bumper beam 2 as a vehicle body frame member includes an outer panel 5 on the outside of the vehicle and an inner panel 6 on the inside of the vehicle that forms a closed cross section together with the outer panel 5. The outer panel 5 has a main wall portion 51 extending vertically in cross section, an upper side wall portion 52 extending forward from the upper end of the main wall portion 51, an upper flange portion 53 extending upward from the front end of the upper side wall portion 52, a lower side wall portion 54 extending forward from the lower end of the main wall portion 51, and a lower flange portion 55 extending downward from the front end of the lower side wall portion 54. That is, the outer panel 5 has a pair of flange portions 53, 55 on the outer side in the width direction, a main wall portion 51 on the width direction center side separated from each flange portion 53, 55 to the outer side of the vehicle, and a pair of side wall portions 52, 54 connecting the width direction inner end portion of each flange portion 53, 55 and the width direction outer end portion of the main wall portion 51. In this embodiment, the upper side wall portion 52 is inclined upward toward the front, and the lower side wall portion 54 is inclined downward toward the front. The main wall portion 51 has an upper extension portion 51a extending downward from the rear end of the upper side wall portion 52, an upper inclined portion 51b extending downward from the lower end of the upper extension portion 51a toward the front, a central extension portion 51c extending downward from the front end of the upper inclined portion 51b, a lower inclined portion 51d extending downward from the lower end of the central extension portion 51c toward the rear, and a lower extension portion 51e extending downward from the rear end of the lower inclined portion 51d.

The inner panel 6 has a main wall portion 61 extending vertically in cross section, an upper side wall portion 62 extending rearward from the upper end of the main wall portion 61, an upper flange portion 63 extending upward from the rear end of the upper side wall portion 62, a lower side wall portion 64 extending rearward from the lower end of the main wall portion 61, and a lower flange portion 65 extending downward from the front end of the lower side wall portion 64. In this embodiment, the upper side wall portion 62 is inclined upward toward the rear, and the lower side wall portion 64 is inclined downward toward the rear. The upper side wall portion 62 and the lower side wall portion 64 of the inner panel 6 are formed longer in the front-rear direction than the upper side wall portion 52 and the lower side wall portion 54 of the outer panel 5. The main wall portion 61 has an upper extending portion 61a extending downward from the front end of the upper side wall portion 62, an upper inclined portion 61b extending rearward from the lower end of the upper extending portion 61a, a central extending portion 61c extending downward from the rear end of the upper inclined portion 61b, a lower inclined portion 61d extending forward from the lower end of the central extending portion 61c, and a lower extending portion 61e extending downward from the front end of the lower inclined portion 61d. The upper flange portions 53, 63 and the lower flange portions 55, 65 of the outer panel 5 and the inner panel 6 are joined together to form a closed cross section of the bumper beam 2.

In addition, the outer panel 5 is formed with a recess 7 that is formed over a predetermined section in the extension direction. In this embodiment, two recesses 7 are formed in a pair on the left and right sides corresponding to the installation locations of the sonar sensor 1. Specifically, each recess 7 is formed by positioning the lower side of the main wall portion 51, the lower side wall portion 54, and the lower flange portion 55 in the predetermined section of the outer panel 5 forward compared to the portion other than the predetermined section. As shown in FIG. 4, since the lower flange portion 55 of the outer panel 5 is located forward, the lower side wall portion 64 of the inner panel 6 in the recess 7 is formed short in the front-to-rear direction, and the lower flange portion 65 of the inner panel 6 that joins with the lower flange portion 55 of the outer panel 5 is also located forward compared to the portion other than the predetermined section.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, each recess 7 has an inclined portion 71 formed on both left and right ends, inclining forward from the left and right outer ends toward the left and right center, and a bottom portion 72 formed at the left and right center, connecting the left and right inner ends of each inclined portion 71 and extending left and right. The bottom portion 72 has a hole portion 8 formed in a size that allows the sonar sensor 1 to be inserted when the sonar sensor 1 moves forward.

As shown in FIG. 4, each sonar sensor 1 is supported by a plate 4 and protrudes from the plate 4 to a bumper face 100. The bumper face 100 is disposed behind the bumper beam 2 and forms the vehicle's design surface. A harness (not shown) is connected to each sonar sensor 1, and obstacles behind the bumper face 100 are detected.

As shown in FIG. 1, the plate material 4 is provided in the main wall portion 51 of the outer panel 5 so as to cover a part of the recess 7, and supports the sonar sensor 1. In this embodiment, two plate materials 4 are provided corresponding to the two recesses 7, and each plate material 4 covers the recess 7 in the left-right direction. Each plate material 4 mainly covers the central extension portion 51c of the main wall portion 51, and the lower inclined portion 51d of the recess 7 to the flange portion 55 is exposed. A harness is connected to each sonar sensor 1 through the exposed space of this recess 7. Each plate material 41 is fixed to the main wall portion 51 by a bolt 41.

According to the support structure for on-board components configured as described above, a recess 7 is formed in the outer panel 5 of the bumper beam 2, and the sonar sensor 1 is supported on a plate material 4 that covers a portion of the recess 7, so that the sonar sensor 1 can be provided on the bumper beam 2 side with a small amount of rearward protrusion. This eliminates the need to secure separate installation space for the sonar sensor 1 above or below the bumper beam 2, and allows the space above and below the bumper beam 2 to be effectively utilized, improving the design freedom of the vehicle, for example by making it possible to enlarge the opening of the luggage compartment in the vertical direction.

In addition, because the sonar sensor 1 only protrudes rearward a small amount, the bumper beam 2 can be positioned closer to the bumper face 100, ensuring a large space in front of the bumper beam 2. This ensures that the front-to-rear dimensions of the bumper stay 3 are sufficient, and that the bumper stay 3 can adequately absorb energy during a vehicle collision with a relatively large input that moves the bumper beam 2 forward.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, in the event of a vehicle collision with a relatively small input in which the bumper face 100 is moved forward but the bumper beam 2 is not moved forward, the sonar sensor 1 can move forward through the hole 8 without interfering with the bumper beam 2, and the bumper beam 2 is not damaged. Therefore, repairs can be made by replacing the bumper face 100, plate material 4, sonar sensor 1, etc., without replacing the bumper beam 2, which is a body frame material, and repairs do not require additional effort or cost.

In addition, according to the support structure for on-board components of this embodiment, the recess 7 is formed in a part of the outer panel 7 in the vertical direction, and the recess 7 is not formed in the other part of the outer panel 5. This suppresses changes in the rigidity of the other part of the outer panel 5 in the extension direction, and suppresses the decrease in rigidity and strength of the bumper beam 2 caused by the recess 7. In particular, since the upper side wall portion 52 of the outer panel 5 is not included in the recess 7, the ridge formed by the upper side wall portion 52 and the main wall portion 51, which contributes relatively greatly to the rigidity and strength of the bumper beam 2, does not become concave, and the rigidity and strength of the bumper beam 2 can be accurately ensured. In addition, since the lower side wall portion 54 is included in the recess 7, the recess 7 can be ensured relatively large on the lower side.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the bumper beam 2 of the rear bumper of a vehicle, but it can also be applied to other vehicle body frame members with closed cross sections, such as the bumper beam of the front bumper and pillars around the door opening. In addition, in the above embodiment, a sonar sensor 1 is shown as an example of an on-vehicle component, but it goes without saying that it can also be other sensors such as an acceleration sensor or pressure sensor, or an on-vehicle camera, etc.

In the above embodiment, the recesses 7 are formed in two places on the bumper beam 2, but they may be formed in only one place, or in three or more places. In addition, the plate material 4 covers a part of the recesses 7, but it may cover the entire recess. Furthermore, the plate material 4 is fixed to the outer panel 5 by the bolts 41, but it may be fixed by welding or the like.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the invention according to the claims is not limited to the embodiments described above. It should be noted that not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Sonar sensor 2 Bumper beam 3 Bumper stay 4 Plate material 5 Outer panel 6 Inner panel 7 Recess 8 Hole 51 Main wall 52 Upper side wall 53 Upper flange 54 Lower side wall 55 Lower flange

Claims (4)

a vehicle body frame member including an outer panel on an outer side of a vehicle and an inner panel on an inner side of the vehicle, the inner panel forming a closed cross section together with the outer panel, the vehicle body frame member extending in a predetermined direction;
a recess formed in the outer panel of the vehicle body frame over a predetermined section in an extending direction of the outer panel;
a plate member that covers at least a portion of the recess and is capable of supporting an on-vehicle component;
a through hole formed in the recess of the outer panel and sized to allow the on-board component to be inserted when the on-board component moves toward the inside of the vehicle. The support structure for an on-vehicle component according to claim 1, wherein the recess is formed in a portion of the outer panel in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the outer panel. the outer panel has a pair of flange portions on the outer side in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the outer panel, a main wall portion on a central side in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the outer panel and spaced from each flange portion toward the outer side of the vehicle, and a pair of side wall portions connecting an inner end portion of each flange portion in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the outer panel and an outer end portion of the main wall portion in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the outer panel,
The support structure for an on-vehicle component according to claim 2 , wherein the recess is formed to include one side wall portion and not include the other side wall portion. The vehicle body frame member is a bumper beam extending in the left-right direction,
The support structure for an on-vehicle component according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recesses are formed in a pair on the left and right sides of the bumper beam.

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